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http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/9552558/liverpool-boss-brendan-rodgers-says-he-did-not-field-a-reserve-team-in-Madrid"I know there has been a bit of criticism for the selection but I think it is a disservice to the team that played," he said on Thursday.
"The idea was to make sure we stayed in the game for 60-65 minutes and then open up the game with the quality of Steven Gerrard’s passing, Raheem Sterling's speed, and Phil Coutinho's creativity, but we couldn't get a goal.
"I don't look so much into it because any criticism that comes is part of what you take as a manager, but I didn't think it was fair to call Kolo Toure, Lucas Leiva or Adam Lallana a reserve player.
"Those boys put in a great performance and they deserved more praise, as opposed to the criticism which came.
"It doesn't affect me any way as I don't listen to it, good or bad. I don't have to justify it, the players justified it the other night.
“I think for all of them it was a great opportunity and that is what I look to do here, try and pick the team that can win the game
“Kolo (Toure), for example, was outstanding on the night, and it is a great mark of his professionalism that he could come in and play as well as he did on the evening.
“He has played in a number of the cup competitions and done very well.”
Rodgers also pointed out that the media and fans are not necessarily aware of all the factors he has to take into account when picking his side.
"Managers up and down the country are dealing in the reality of being a manager,” he said.
“It is not fantasy football, it is not on sentiment or on a computer. When we are picking teams we are dealing with the reality of players and their physical condition and tactics going into the game."It was probably hard for you guys. You are probably not privy to some of the information that I have in relation to the team"
“You probably would not have known that Steven (Gerrard) had a scan on his hamstring on the Monday before we travelled out.
“But it was always in the plan (for Gerrard to be rested), with where he was at in terms of his games.
“But those players who did play certainly did not do themselves any harm. I thought they performed very, very well against a top class side.”
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His comments before the Chelsea allude to the fact that he chose the line up in Madrid due to fitness, form and mentality of certain players. He mentioned he had a defined game plan and selected those players based on the fact the were the best 11 players in our squad to deal with the game. I loved his comments about it not being a computer game as it suggested that you don't just choose your 'best 11 on paper' because there are other factors to think about and that's not how you win matches. It seemed like a savvy, educated tactical decision to play that team on Tuesday.
Having said that though, he then went against everything he said and went back to the players that he had left out for Madrid and the likes of Lucas, Lallana & Kolo, who he had said was outstanding on Tuesday, were relegated to the bench. So it wasn't the savvy, educated tactical decision to leave out those players on Tuesday after all. It was just to give them a rest. Maybe the likes of Lucas, Kolo & Lallana are reserve players as the media suggested?
The message that he gave out about considering form and mentality evaporated instantly the moment he left Kolo, Lucas & Lallana on the bench. That's all the conversation was about on the concourse at the ground. As someone who went to Madrid and come back and defended his decision to play that team on Tuesday, because of the reason that he stated, it was a bit of a kick in the balls to see that line up and know that what he had told us was in fact a load of bollocks.
He's a very good speaker and he is incredibly articulate when speaking to the media, but we're not dickheads. If he try's to pull the wool over our eyes and tries to talk himself out of poor managerial decisions and lies, then he may find it backfires, as demonstrated on Saturday.
